The sky reflects off the water at Jack's Pond in Great Kills.
(Staten Island Advance File Photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - GREAT KILLS - Teenagers have been hanging out around Jack's Pond for decades.

They've polluted the outskirts of the body of water with broken beer bottles, cigar tubes and wrappers (commonly used to roll marijuana), empty cigarette packs and other debris for as long as many nearby residents can remember.

Fighting, yelling and vandalism are almost routine – most recently, a woman had her vehicle keyed. Some motorists have lost sideview mirrors.

An anonymous letter sent to the Advance about two weeks ago read that 15- and 16-year-olds have been "doing drugs" at the pond and bashing out car windows.

"These teens are there in the afternoon and evening. Our young children cannot play outside. It's a shame," said the ghost writer, who added that the neighborhood needs to be a clean and safe place to live.

When asked about this, residents of Ramble Road in Great Kills were surprised. It's been a quiet summer, they said. Except for one incident.

In one case more than two weeks ago, said Candice Strano, a teenager in his car was dragged out of it and beaten.

But beside that, "It's been a while since I've heard anything," she said.

Mrs. Strano said while she's heard plenty of noise and spotted plenty of garbage in and around the pond, the area has been OK.

In one instance, she spotted teenagers hanging out on her porch – likely hiding from someone, she said – and when asked to leave, they never returned. That was two years ago.

Mrs. Strano once saw a set of broken crutches in one of the three New York City garbage pails positioned near the pond.

A resident of seven years, she said police keep an eye on the location.

"Kids aren't getting away with stuff like they once were," she noted.

Longtime resident Marie Guido, a Ramble resident for 63 years, said long ago, young adults hung around more than they do now.

"They used to be worse," she said.

But that's gone.

An Adrienne Place homeowner, who chose not to give her name, fearing vandals would damage her property, said a few problems have popped up in the past, but recently, "It's been quiet." Last summer was much worse, the woman said.

An Advance inspection showed Jack's Pond as pristine as can be. Layers of algae previously on top of the water were gone, leaving a reflection of the sky and homes across the pond on the surface of the Bluebelt property.